[Giants]

Weird, the author makes it sound like Taylor is this hidden gem that no one has thought of before, and yet, if one reads this board, Taylor is one of the most frequently named possibilities.



BC

I would love to see Stanford hire Taylor.  If that happens, the explosion in Berkeley would cause Richter Scales throughout northern California to register a major incident on the Hayward fault line.  Bear fans have been pining for Taylor to “come back home” for quite some time……

Now, whether he is the right guy at the right time on the Farm is another story…….

[Giants]

Weird, the author makes it sound like Taylor is this hidden gem that no one has thought of before, and yet, if one reads this board, Taylor is one of the most frequently named possibilities.



BC

I would love to see Stanford hire Taylor.  If that happens, the explosion in Berkeley would cause Richter Scales throughout northern California to register a major incident on the Hayward fault line.  Bear fans have been pining for Taylor to “come back home” for quite some time……

Now, whether he is the right guy at the right time on the Farm is another story…….

[MarinCard]

Honorable mention:

* Greg Roman: I get it, he's an offensive genius and shaped some of the best offenses in Stanford history, I just don't get what that has to do with the rest of being a college football head coach

* Mike Bloomgren: I don't want this but if we're being honest he's extremely plausible given the partial truth and narrative (fueled by the Athletic article) that he was a of immense proportions part of the secret sauce of Shaw's success, coupled with his credible performance at Rice in light of the circumstances, and I do think he could succeed....thought hard about putting him on the ranked part but it's my list and I don't want to

* Lance Anderson: Another guy it's only realistic to acknowledge may get a look, though the case for a continuity candidate is awful under the circumstances and would be pretty galling....I don't know if Anderson would bring in a good coordinator or handle it himself but in a CEO role I acknowledge an outside chance of success, just not the juice I think we want/deserve

* Tavita Pritchard: Ditto

* Garret Riley: I'm not a big fan of the hire the 33 year old hotshot coordinator as a head coach model, but Riley sure is interesting and is a scorching hot name not only because of his brother but because of TCU's success this year

* Bronco Mendenhall: Again I'm a sucker for multi-stop success and I also have a soft spot for defensive specialists, but it just feels like an uninspired choice

* Paul Chryst: Ditto, except for the defense part

* Kalani Sitake: I've long found him attractive but am troubled by what he's allowed to happen to BYU's defense despite ostensibly being a defensive specialist

* Jeff Traylor: Probably a bad fit but UTSA is really good

* Bryan Harsin: Intriguing buy-low opportunity for a program as far away from SEC boosters as possible, both geographically and temperamentally

* Jeff Monken: Multi-stop success and navigating admissions at Army are appealing but I'm just not feeling it

* Jay Hill: He seems like a really good coach but FCS is a gigantic leap and he's only got experience in Utah

* Sherrone Moore: He seems great but just really unseasoned to get a Power Five head coach job at this point

---

Every guy I mentioned in the ranked portion is LFG territory for me (and several in honorable mention would be too if I'm honest). I'd be so pumped to get any of these candidates. I'm prepared for the actual hire to come from my honorable mention list or the field and that might be ok, but obviously I hope one of my preferred candidates gets it or else I wouldn't have done this list.

I view Swinney, Quinn, Garrett, and O'Brien as big swings with low likelihoods of making contact. I just think we need to take the swing. I really surprised myself having such an NFL flavor at the top of this list as that is definitely not my predisposition, but a) the names I listed have such intriguing competence/fit, b) the research I've done on successful Power Five turnarounds showed an excellent track record of former NFL head coaches turning around struggling Power Five programs (Chip Kelly, Jim Mora, Nick Saban, Butch Davis, Steve Spurrier, Rich Brooks, Pete Carroll, Dennis Erickson), c) the name recognition and cachet would help with recruiting and trying to secure a position at one of the big boy tables in college football, and d) to the extent Shaw has tried to establish a pro-style program, getting one of these true pros would solidify approaches and styles Shaw was only cosplaying.

If we miss on those big swings I think we should be able to get a proven Power Five winner and my preferences would be Clawson, Brohm, Petersen, Klieman, Fleck, and Campbell. Honestly I'd be surprised if the search had to go beyond my top ten in the fanciful world in which Muir adopted my list whole cloth, but I'm glad there are many more than ten candidates I'd be stoked with.

As I make this list something I am cognizant of and troubled by is the lack of racial diversity at the top of my list. I think this is a problem in the sport generally, at both the college and pro levels. I wish my process came up with a different result but when I try to rack and stack based on my sense of merit and fit this is where I come down. But I did list numerous people of color and there are good options out there of all races, levels of major college football, offensive/defensive persuasion, geography, age demographic, and so forth. A national search should get us a hire we can be excited about. Fingers crossed.

Tavita would be a plausible head coach candidate... for a high school.

[MarinCard]

Honorable mention:

* Greg Roman: I get it, he's an offensive genius and shaped some of the best offenses in Stanford history, I just don't get what that has to do with the rest of being a college football head coach

* Mike Bloomgren: I don't want this but if we're being honest he's extremely plausible given the partial truth and narrative (fueled by the Athletic article) that he was a of immense proportions part of the secret sauce of Shaw's success, coupled with his credible performance at Rice in light of the circumstances, and I do think he could succeed....thought hard about putting him on the ranked part but it's my list and I don't want to

* Lance Anderson: Another guy it's only realistic to acknowledge may get a look, though the case for a continuity candidate is awful under the circumstances and would be pretty galling....I don't know if Anderson would bring in a good coordinator or handle it himself but in a CEO role I acknowledge an outside chance of success, just not the juice I think we want/deserve

* Tavita Pritchard: Ditto

* Garret Riley: I'm not a big fan of the hire the 33 year old hotshot coordinator as a head coach model, but Riley sure is interesting and is a scorching hot name not only because of his brother but because of TCU's success this year

* Bronco Mendenhall: Again I'm a sucker for multi-stop success and I also have a soft spot for defensive specialists, but it just feels like an uninspired choice

* Paul Chryst: Ditto, except for the defense part

* Kalani Sitake: I've long found him attractive but am troubled by what he's allowed to happen to BYU's defense despite ostensibly being a defensive specialist

* Jeff Traylor: Probably a bad fit but UTSA is really good

* Bryan Harsin: Intriguing buy-low opportunity for a program as far away from SEC boosters as possible, both geographically and temperamentally

* Jeff Monken: Multi-stop success and navigating admissions at Army are appealing but I'm just not feeling it

* Jay Hill: He seems like a really good coach but FCS is a gigantic leap and he's only got experience in Utah

* Sherrone Moore: He seems great but just really unseasoned to get a Power Five head coach job at this point

---

Every guy I mentioned in the ranked portion is LFG territory for me (and several in honorable mention would be too if I'm honest). I'd be so pumped to get any of these candidates. I'm prepared for the actual hire to come from my honorable mention list or the field and that might be ok, but obviously I hope one of my preferred candidates gets it or else I wouldn't have done this list.

I view Swinney, Quinn, Garrett, and O'Brien as big swings with low likelihoods of making contact. I just think we need to take the swing. I really surprised myself having such an NFL flavor at the top of this list as that is definitely not my predisposition, but a) the names I listed have such intriguing competence/fit, b) the research I've done on successful Power Five turnarounds showed an excellent track record of former NFL head coaches turning around struggling Power Five programs (Chip Kelly, Jim Mora, Nick Saban, Butch Davis, Steve Spurrier, Rich Brooks, Pete Carroll, Dennis Erickson), c) the name recognition and cachet would help with recruiting and trying to secure a position at one of the big boy tables in college football, and d) to the extent Shaw has tried to establish a pro-style program, getting one of these true pros would solidify approaches and styles Shaw was only cosplaying.

If we miss on those big swings I think we should be able to get a proven Power Five winner and my preferences would be Clawson, Brohm, Petersen, Klieman, Fleck, and Campbell. Honestly I'd be surprised if the search had to go beyond my top ten in the fanciful world in which Muir adopted my list whole cloth, but I'm glad there are many more than ten candidates I'd be stoked with.

As I make this list something I am cognizant of and troubled by is the lack of racial diversity at the top of my list. I think this is a problem in the sport generally, at both the college and pro levels. I wish my process came up with a different result but when I try to rack and stack based on my sense of merit and fit this is where I come down. But I did list numerous people of color and there are good options out there of all races, levels of major college football, offensive/defensive persuasion, geography, age demographic, and so forth. A national search should get us a hire we can be excited about. Fingers crossed.

Tavita would be a plausible head coach candidate... for a high school.

[OutsiderFan]

If Troy Taylor can get over and won't be bothered by being "disowned" by Cal world, he would be my #1 choice. Taylor reminds me a little bit of guys like Urban Meyer and Brian Kelly, only rather than winning at multiple lower levels and always succeeding as they progressed, Taylor has high level assistant experience and was a successful OC, then the proven track record in FCS at Sac State, so you don't have to worry he can't handle the jump from FCS to Power 5.

My only trepidation would be recruiting. Sac State, Utah, and Cal very much rely on mostly California, and certainly West Coast recruiting. Stanford requires national and maybe even international recruiting. I'm sure Stanford has good relationships with High School programs across the land that Taylor can take over. I just wonder if his comfort zone is recruiting mostly West Coast and California a bit too much for Stanford. But this is something that can be mitigated by the right coaching staff hires too.

[OutsiderFan]

If Troy Taylor can get over and won't be bothered by being "disowned" by Cal world, he would be my #1 choice. Taylor reminds me a little bit of guys like Urban Meyer and Brian Kelly, only rather than winning at multiple lower levels and always succeeding as they progressed, Taylor has high level assistant experience and was a successful OC, then the proven track record in FCS at Sac State, so you don't have to worry he can't handle the jump from FCS to Power 5.

My only trepidation would be recruiting. Sac State, Utah, and Cal very much rely on mostly California, and certainly West Coast recruiting. Stanford requires national and maybe even international recruiting. I'm sure Stanford has good relationships with High School programs across the land that Taylor can take over. I just wonder if his comfort zone is recruiting mostly West Coast and California a bit too much for Stanford. But this is something that can be mitigated by the right coaching staff hires too.

[Goose]

If Troy Taylor can get over and won't be bothered by being "disowned" by Cal world, he would be my #1 choice. Taylor reminds me a little bit of guys like Urban Meyer and Brian Kelly, only rather than winning at multiple lower levels and always succeeding as they progressed, Taylor has high level assistant experience and was a successful OC, then the proven track record in FCS at Sac State, so you don't have to worry he can't handle the jump from FCS to Power 5.

Troy Taylor's time as an OC at Utah was anything but successful and his departure was not voluntary. You could blame it on a clash of ideas with the head coach, but that does not make it a success. He may well be a very good head coaching choice at Stanford but it won't be because of anything that happened at Utah, other than perhaps experience handling a "difficult" situation in a classy manner.

[Goose]

If Troy Taylor can get over and won't be bothered by being "disowned" by Cal world, he would be my #1 choice. Taylor reminds me a little bit of guys like Urban Meyer and Brian Kelly, only rather than winning at multiple lower levels and always succeeding as they progressed, Taylor has high level assistant experience and was a successful OC, then the proven track record in FCS at Sac State, so you don't have to worry he can't handle the jump from FCS to Power 5.

Troy Taylor's time as an OC at Utah was anything but successful and his departure was not voluntary. You could blame it on a clash of ideas with the head coach, but that does not make it a success. He may well be a very good head coaching choice at Stanford but it won't be because of anything that happened at Utah, other than perhaps experience handling a "difficult" situation in a classy manner.

[lex24]

Excellent post, Matt. Sonny Dykes strikes me as a good model for our next coach, at the very least. See this interview he gave, shortly after he was introduced as coach at TCU:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNnpgZKVpZ0

Ask Cal about Dykes.  No, thanks.

[lex24]

Excellent post, Matt. Sonny Dykes strikes me as a good model for our next coach, at the very least. See this interview he gave, shortly after he was introduced as coach at TCU:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNnpgZKVpZ0

Ask Cal about Dykes.  No, thanks.

[SamuelMcF]

Ask Cal about Dykes.  No, thanks.

Incorrect.

Ask DYKES about CAL.

He's a very good coach.

[SamuelMcF]

Ask Cal about Dykes.  No, thanks.

Incorrect.

Ask DYKES about CAL.

He's a very good coach.

[gailtate]

[What does it say about Stanford if...]

...Chris Petersen declines? He knows everything there is to know about this job at this time. This is why I'm skeptical about his interest. I hope he explores it at the very least, but whatever he does will be a key indicator. My fear is that he's already eliminated himself. Hope I'm dead-wrong.

[gailtate]

[What does it say about Stanford if...]

...Chris Petersen declines? He knows everything there is to know about this job at this time. This is why I'm skeptical about his interest. I hope he explores it at the very least, but whatever he does will be a key indicator. My fear is that he's already eliminated himself. Hope I'm dead-wrong.

[dabigv13]

It might not say anything about Stanford if Petersen declines. He is on downslope of his career, with plenty of money and an easy job that pays well. The best program in the country might not have any appeal to him.

And BTW I think Petersen would be a risky hire for the above reasons. Does he have the fire and motivation to be successful at a tough job?

[dabigv13]

It might not say anything about Stanford if Petersen declines. He is on downslope of his career, with plenty of money and an easy job that pays well. The best program in the country might not have any appeal to him.

And BTW I think Petersen would be a risky hire for the above reasons. Does he have the fire and motivation to be successful at a tough job?

[BostonCard]

I don't think it says anything about the University of Washington that Petersen stepped down from coaching there, so I don't think it would say much about Stanford if he didn't take the job.  In fact, given his stated reasons for leaving UW, I think it might say more about Stanford if he were offered and took the position: that it is a cushy, low-pressure job where you can just coast.

BC

[BostonCard]

I don't think it says anything about the University of Washington that Petersen stepped down from coaching there, so I don't think it would say much about Stanford if he didn't take the job.  In fact, given his stated reasons for leaving UW, I think it might say more about Stanford if he were offered and took the position: that it is a cushy, low-pressure job where you can just coast.

BC

[SamuelMcF]

...Chris Petersen declines? He knows everything there is to know about this job at this time. This is why I'm skeptical about his interest. I hope he explores it at the very least, but whatever he does will be a key indicator. My fear is that he's already eliminated himself. Hope I'm dead-wrong.

Why would Chris Petersen want to compete in an even-more-insane college football landscape than the one he retired to get away from?

[SamuelMcF]

...Chris Petersen declines? He knows everything there is to know about this job at this time. This is why I'm skeptical about his interest. I hope he explores it at the very least, but whatever he does will be a key indicator. My fear is that he's already eliminated himself. Hope I'm dead-wrong.

Why would Chris Petersen want to compete in an even-more-insane college football landscape than the one he retired to get away from?

[BostonCard]

Dykes had a worse winning percentage at Cal (.388) than his predecessor (Tedford, .590) or his successor (Wilcox, .491).  In fact, other than the hapless Tom Holme, you have to go back to Joe Kapp to find a coach with a worse winning percentage.  Before that, it is Marc Levy in the 1960's.

In his four years, his defensive FEIs were: 99th, 105th, 79th, 115th

Offense was fine, with an FEI that peaked at 12th in 2015, but the air raid style left his crappy defense in a vulnerable spot.

BC

[BostonCard]

Dykes had a worse winning percentage at Cal (.388) than his predecessor (Tedford, .590) or his successor (Wilcox, .491).  In fact, other than the hapless Tom Holme, you have to go back to Joe Kapp to find a coach with a worse winning percentage.  Before that, it is Marc Levy in the 1960's.

In his four years, his defensive FEIs were: 99th, 105th, 79th, 115th

Offense was fine, with an FEI that peaked at 12th in 2015, but the air raid style left his crappy defense in a vulnerable spot.

BC

[gailtate]

...Chris Petersen declines? He knows everything there is to know about this job at this time. This is why I'm skeptical about his interest. I hope he explores it at the very least, but whatever he does will be a key indicator. My fear is that he's already eliminated himself. Hope I'm dead-wrong.

Why would Chris Petersen want to compete in an even-more-insane college football landscape than the one he retired to get away from?

Do you know any former coaches at his level? He's not exactly in the old codger demographic and I'll wager he is likely bored to tears engaging in mindless, meaningless chit-chat in a TV studio far from the real-world arena where he can make a difference shaping the characters of young men eager for the tutelage he can impart. There's only so much golf and tennis and pickle-ball you can play. And he's probably sick of grinning on cue. Just a guess.

[gailtate]

...Chris Petersen declines? He knows everything there is to know about this job at this time. This is why I'm skeptical about his interest. I hope he explores it at the very least, but whatever he does will be a key indicator. My fear is that he's already eliminated himself. Hope I'm dead-wrong.

Why would Chris Petersen want to compete in an even-more-insane college football landscape than the one he retired to get away from?

Do you know any former coaches at his level? He's not exactly in the old codger demographic and I'll wager he is likely bored to tears engaging in mindless, meaningless chit-chat in a TV studio far from the real-world arena where he can make a difference shaping the characters of young men eager for the tutelage he can impart. There's only so much golf and tennis and pickle-ball you can play. And he's probably sick of grinning on cue. Just a guess.

[msqueri]

Agree with dabigv take (which is to also say agree with most posts in this thread). Don't think it says anything. Also think we may end up with a coach who has as much reason to get us excited as Petersen. We'll see.

[msqueri]

Agree with dabigv take (which is to also say agree with most posts in this thread). Don't think it says anything. Also think we may end up with a coach who has as much reason to get us excited as Petersen. We'll see.

[msqueri]

Dykes had a worse winning percentage at Cal (.388) than his predecessor (Tedford, .590) or his successor (Wilcox, .491).  In fact, other than the hapless Tom Holme, you have to go back to Joe Kapp to find a coach with a worse winning percentage.  Before that, it is Marc Levy in the 1960's.

In his four years, his defensive FEIs were: 99th, 105th, 79th, 115th

Offense was fine, with an FEI that peaked at 12th in 2015, but the air raid style left his crappy defense in a vulnerable spot.

BC

This is misleading because Dykes got fired while still building. There's no way of knowing what he would have done in his fifth year. Cal got impatient and didn't find out. What he's done everywhere else shows what kind of coach he is. Cal is like UNLV: blaming the coach for the program itself sucking. Marcus Arroyo just got fired and a 7-23 record seems AWFUL. But just looking at it in that lens leads to dubious conclusions. You also have to consider program strength/fundamentals and trajectory. Arroyo got fired after major improvement each year. Dykes got fired after two years that were better than the two prior to those.  I'm not saying Cal's regression from Dykes penultimate to ultimate year was good or that it was indefensible for Cal to fire him, but everything subsequently in the Cal program has showed Dykes wasn't the problem and everything subsequently in Dykes' career suggests he's a very good coach.

I can't believe we're actually arguing this. Sonny Dykes has TCU 12-0. 12-0! They hadn't won more than seven games in any of the previous four years. He's going to win national coach of the year. But he's the problem. People, Cal sucks.

[msqueri]

Dykes had a worse winning percentage at Cal (.388) than his predecessor (Tedford, .590) or his successor (Wilcox, .491).  In fact, other than the hapless Tom Holme, you have to go back to Joe Kapp to find a coach with a worse winning percentage.  Before that, it is Marc Levy in the 1960's.

In his four years, his defensive FEIs were: 99th, 105th, 79th, 115th

Offense was fine, with an FEI that peaked at 12th in 2015, but the air raid style left his crappy defense in a vulnerable spot.

BC

This is misleading because Dykes got fired while still building. There's no way of knowing what he would have done in his fifth year. Cal got impatient and didn't find out. What he's done everywhere else shows what kind of coach he is. Cal is like UNLV: blaming the coach for the program itself sucking. Marcus Arroyo just got fired and a 7-23 record seems AWFUL. But just looking at it in that lens leads to dubious conclusions. You also have to consider program strength/fundamentals and trajectory. Arroyo got fired after major improvement each year. Dykes got fired after two years that were better than the two prior to those.  I'm not saying Cal's regression from Dykes penultimate to ultimate year was good or that it was indefensible for Cal to fire him, but everything subsequently in the Cal program has showed Dykes wasn't the problem and everything subsequently in Dykes' career suggests he's a very good coach.

I can't believe we're actually arguing this. Sonny Dykes has TCU 12-0. 12-0! They hadn't won more than seven games in any of the previous four years. He's going to win national coach of the year. But he's the problem. People, Cal sucks.

[gocard14]

Dykes had a worse winning percentage at Cal (.388) than his predecessor (Tedford, .590) or his successor (Wilcox, .491).  In fact, other than the hapless Tom Holme, you have to go back to Joe Kapp to find a coach with a worse winning percentage.  Before that, it is Marc Levy in the 1960's.

In his four years, his defensive FEIs were: 99th, 105th, 79th, 115th

Offense was fine, with an FEI that peaked at 12th in 2015, but the air raid style left his crappy defense in a vulnerable spot.

BC

Speaking of Tedford, He could be a good option. All he's done is lead Cal to unsurpassed success (#2 in the country at one point) and just win games at Fresno st. He stepped away for 3 years and like Petersen, you wonder if he has the fire for another turnaround like taking Fresno St from 1 to 10 wins in his first year there.

[gocard14]

Dykes had a worse winning percentage at Cal (.388) than his predecessor (Tedford, .590) or his successor (Wilcox, .491).  In fact, other than the hapless Tom Holme, you have to go back to Joe Kapp to find a coach with a worse winning percentage.  Before that, it is Marc Levy in the 1960's.

In his four years, his defensive FEIs were: 99th, 105th, 79th, 115th

Offense was fine, with an FEI that peaked at 12th in 2015, but the air raid style left his crappy defense in a vulnerable spot.

BC

Speaking of Tedford, He could be a good option. All he's done is lead Cal to unsurpassed success (#2 in the country at one point) and just win games at Fresno st. He stepped away for 3 years and like Petersen, you wonder if he has the fire for another turnaround like taking Fresno St from 1 to 10 wins in his first year there.

[Maple Leaf]

Does anyone have an idea of the approximate time frame for Stanford to hire a new coach?  

Walt Harris was fired on 12/4 and Harbaugh was hired on 12/18.  Not sure how long it took between when Harbaugh left to when Shaw was hired.

I am sure Stanford would want to do this as quickly as possible due to recruiting.

[Maple Leaf]

Does anyone have an idea of the approximate time frame for Stanford to hire a new coach?  

Walt Harris was fired on 12/4 and Harbaugh was hired on 12/18.  Not sure how long it took between when Harbaugh left to when Shaw was hired.

I am sure Stanford would want to do this as quickly as possible due to recruiting.

[msqueri]

It will be shocking and very damaging if it's not done by the end of next week. I think it's a bit more likely to get done this week (especially if you include the weekend) than next week.

[msqueri]

It will be shocking and very damaging if it's not done by the end of next week. I think it's a bit more likely to get done this week (especially if you include the weekend) than next week.

[Treebound]

Taylor would be very consistent with past football HC hires.  I think it's very likely Troy or someone like him will be announced soon.  Not worried about the Cal blowback, just look at Esquer for our baseball program.  The faculty has been raising issues regarding Shaw's comp package to MTL and Drell, and our record over the last 4 years made it hard to defend.   

Ralston, Walsh 1, Wiggins, Elway, Denny, Ty, Harbaugh and Shaw were all up and coming coaches.  Only Harris had major HC experience - and look how that turned out.  We aren't going to pay $7-$9m right out of the gate.  I just hope Muir had his list thought through and at the ready.  As others have pointed out, he's made some strong hires recently.  One that was left off the list was the wrestling coach - great get!  We need someone that can bring in great, passionate assistants and maybe even a few quality transfers.

[Treebound]

Taylor would be very consistent with past football HC hires.  I think it's very likely Troy or someone like him will be announced soon.  Not worried about the Cal blowback, just look at Esquer for our baseball program.  The faculty has been raising issues regarding Shaw's comp package to MTL and Drell, and our record over the last 4 years made it hard to defend.   

Ralston, Walsh 1, Wiggins, Elway, Denny, Ty, Harbaugh and Shaw were all up and coming coaches.  Only Harris had major HC experience - and look how that turned out.  We aren't going to pay $7-$9m right out of the gate.  I just hope Muir had his list thought through and at the ready.  As others have pointed out, he's made some strong hires recently.  One that was left off the list was the wrestling coach - great get!  We need someone that can bring in great, passionate assistants and maybe even a few quality transfers.

[BostonCard]

This is misleading because Dykes got fired while still building. There's no way of knowing what he would have done in his fifth year. Cal got impatient and didn't find out. What he's done everywhere else shows what kind of coach he is. Cal is like UNLV: blaming the coach for the program itself sucking. Marcus Arroyo just got fired and a 7-23 record seems AWFUL. But just looking at it in that lens leads to dubious conclusions. You also have to consider program strength/fundamentals and trajectory. Arroyo got fired after major improvement each year. Dykes got fired after two years that were better than the two prior to those.  I'm not saying Cal's regression from Dykes penultimate to ultimate year was good or that it was indefensible for Cal to fire him, but everything subsequently in the Cal program has showed Dykes wasn't the problem and everything subsequently in Dykes' career suggests he's a very good coach. 

I can't believe we're actually arguing this. Sonny Dykes has TCU 12-0. 12-0! They hadn't won more than seven games in any of the previous four years. He's going to win national coach of the year. But he's the problem. People, Cal sucks.

Under that assumption, Harbaugh left "while he was still building".  Sure, maybe if he'd stuck around he would have gotten the team even higher than it got, but "building" means you take a team that was 1-11 the year before you got there and improve the team's record every year you are there.  Four years as head coach, with 80+% of the players were his recruits, and he can't get the defense to be better than the bottom quartile in FBS?  

Here are the defensive FEI's from Wilcox: 56th, 11th, 43rd, 31st, 41st, 62nd

In four years, Dykes was never above the median defense; in six years, Wilcox was never below it.  I'm not a Wilcox stan (and the last couple years have borne me out), but he has a better record at Cal than Dykes, and, so far as I know, Cal has not changed institutionally.  Dykes had one winning/bowl season in four and never finished higher than fourth in the Pac-12N.  Wilcox has been to two bowl games in five non-COVID seasons, and finished second in 2019.

And why do you excuse Dykes' fourth year as "still building" but give him all the credit for his job at TCU, which was done almost completely with players recruited by his predecessor?

Institutional issues at Cal definitely put a ceiling on how well the school will be able to do.  However, that ceiling is not a sub-.400 winning percentage (sub-.300 in conference). 

BC

[BostonCard]

This is misleading because Dykes got fired while still building. There's no way of knowing what he would have done in his fifth year. Cal got impatient and didn't find out. What he's done everywhere else shows what kind of coach he is. Cal is like UNLV: blaming the coach for the program itself sucking. Marcus Arroyo just got fired and a 7-23 record seems AWFUL. But just looking at it in that lens leads to dubious conclusions. You also have to consider program strength/fundamentals and trajectory. Arroyo got fired after major improvement each year. Dykes got fired after two years that were better than the two prior to those.  I'm not saying Cal's regression from Dykes penultimate to ultimate year was good or that it was indefensible for Cal to fire him, but everything subsequently in the Cal program has showed Dykes wasn't the problem and everything subsequently in Dykes' career suggests he's a very good coach. 

I can't believe we're actually arguing this. Sonny Dykes has TCU 12-0. 12-0! They hadn't won more than seven games in any of the previous four years. He's going to win national coach of the year. But he's the problem. People, Cal sucks.

Under that assumption, Harbaugh left "while he was still building".  Sure, maybe if he'd stuck around he would have gotten the team even higher than it got, but "building" means you take a team that was 1-11 the year before you got there and improve the team's record every year you are there.  Four years as head coach, with 80+% of the players were his recruits, and he can't get the defense to be better than the bottom quartile in FBS?  

Here are the defensive FEI's from Wilcox: 56th, 11th, 43rd, 31st, 41st, 62nd

In four years, Dykes was never above the median defense; in six years, Wilcox was never below it.  I'm not a Wilcox stan (and the last couple years have borne me out), but he has a better record at Cal than Dykes, and, so far as I know, Cal has not changed institutionally.  Dykes had one winning/bowl season in four and never finished higher than fourth in the Pac-12N.  Wilcox has been to two bowl games in five non-COVID seasons, and finished second in 2019.

And why do you excuse Dykes' fourth year as "still building" but give him all the credit for his job at TCU, which was done almost completely with players recruited by his predecessor?

Institutional issues at Cal definitely put a ceiling on how well the school will be able to do.  However, that ceiling is not a sub-.400 winning percentage (sub-.300 in conference). 

BC

[winflop]

If we want someone who can work with a school with a high academic reputation, this current guy at Dartmouth has really done great things there.

POSTY!!!

[winflop]

If we want someone who can work with a school with a high academic reputation, this current guy at Dartmouth has really done great things there.

POSTY!!!